The Macon Monitor met this week with two Macon-Bibb citizens who acknowledge gang affiliations, but who dispute the perception by many public officials and members of the public that gangs and gang affiliations are themselves the major cause of violent crime in Macon-Bibb. G-Rell, 30, is affiliated with the Crips, and wore blue clothing to our meeting at a Unity-N-Community office. Johntellis Mathis, 27, is affiliated with the Blacc Team, and wore black clothing. Both are affiliations common in their respective neighborhoods. Mathis joined the conversation later.

Monitor: How long have you been affiliated with a gang?

G-Rell: Since I was about 10. But it’s not what you think, all fighting and shooting and such. It’s a brotherhood. And it’s also about … Continue Reading

Georgia House Representative Allen Peake from Macon lost the majority leader position by a reported 69-44 vote of the majority Republican caucus on Monday, May 11, 2015 under the Gold Dome in Atlanta. Jon Burns from Newington in rural far-east Georgia prevailed. Peake was seeking to move up from the secretary/treasurer position, a position Peake relinquished to run for majority leader. The leader’s spot is being vacated by Larry O’Neal from Bonaire, also in Middle Georgia. O’Neal has resigned to assume an appointment by the governor to a position as a leading administrative law judge on tax matters. Bruce Williamson of the city of Monroe won Peake’s old slot as secretary-treasurer.

In effect, Middle Georgia’s clout in the legislature, with O’Neal retiring and Peake losing, took a double hit.

The Telegraph’s 2013 Person of the Year, Sister Elizabeth Greim of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul, an order of nuns in the Catholic Church devoted to serving the homeless and poor, has touched many souls in Macon. Sister Elizabeth is now transitioning to a new position in Little Rock, Arkansas with Depaul USA, where she will direct a homeless day center transforming it into a center like the Daybreak center at 174 Walnut Street in Macon that Sister Elizabeth helped found in 2012, and has directed for the past three years. The Monitor caught up with Sister Elizabeth on April 24, 2015 to hear about what she’s learned and done in Macon, and what its people have meant for her.

There will be a mass and reception in Sister Elizabeth’s honor beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, 2015 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 830 Poplar Street in downtown Macon. The public is welcome.

Monitor: Before coming to Macon, where had you been, and what were you doing?

Sister Elizabeth: I’ve been a sister in the Daughters of Charity for almost 20 years now, the last ten in Macon. Before that, … Continue Reading

On April 23, 2015, Basil Ghali, 24, of Macon Georgia turned himself in to the Bibb County sheriff’s office on a charge of reckless conduct with a gun – a misdemeanor charge stemming from a more-than month-old March 21st shooting on Lake Tobesofkee. When Ghali turned himself in, Bibb Sheriff David Davis made an announcement to the public. That announcement undermined the felony aggravated assault charge levied by District Attorney David Cooke against Ghali the next day.

The incident has garnered a good bit of local criticism lobbed at Sheriff Davis’ deputies, who allegedly confronted Ghali’s father, were denied consent to search or voluntary communication absent the presence of an attorney, and then failed to properly follow up and obtain the proper warrants. The case went seemingly uninvestigated for weeks, while the victims continually spoke out to the media demanding that justice be served.